Immigrants gathered in Union Square to
protest Presidents Bush's proposed budget that would
cut more
than two
of every three dollars from the city's network of
adult literacy
and work force development programs supporting such
English classes for immigrants. (NY
Times)

At the same time, Deputy Mayor Dennis
Walcott announced that city would spend $1.8 million
for a new initiative called the Immigrant
Family Literacy Program, which will fund English classes,
as well as legal services for immigrants and workers
(Gotham
Gazette).

In this May edition
of The Citizen, we take a look at non-citizen voting,
immigrants' struggle for political asylum, employment
and the immigrant
workforce, and mayoral politics. .Stories from
the Bengali, Chinese and Spanish-language
press via our partner, Voices That
Must Be Heard.

Non-Citizen
VotingFrom Gotham Gazette
Doug Israel looks at the latest voting rights movement -- the right of non-citizens
to vote.

Seeking
Asylum; Getting DeportedFrom Gotham Gazette
Justice Emily Jane Goodman writes about the case of a woman who sought asylum,
telling a story of harrowing persecution, and why she was ordered deported instead.

Tough
Times for Bangladeshi Asylum SeekersFrom Weekly Thikana
The disappointment and desperation produced
by being denied asylum have driven many Bangladeshi immigrants
into trouble.
Some were arrested and put in detention centers before being
forced
to leave
the country, penniless.

Immigration
Status From Sing Tao Daily
The Bronx take-out deliveryman who was trapped in an elevator for three days,
now faces deportation after the police disclosed his immigration status to the
media.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Illegal
DumpingFrom Nowy DziennikNews
Maspeth and Greenpoint, two Polish neighborhoods that sit on the border of Queens
and Brooklyn, have become notorious sites for illegal garbage dumping.

Asian
TeachersFrom World Journal
NYC Department of Education promises to hire 500 Asian teachers, 90 of them from
the Philippines.

FDNY
and NYPD Urged to Hire ImmigrantsFrom Sing Tao Daily
Politicians and immigrant rights activists rallied in front of the City Council
to support legislation to allow the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the
Fire Department of New York (FDNY) to hire green card holders.

Hiring
CentersFrom El Diario
The City Council proposed a bill to set up a network of hiring centers for
day laborers in the city.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Vending
PermitsFrom El Diario / La Prensa
Vendors protest proposed legislation requiring them to have licenses,
to be fingerprinted, and to limit
the
number
of vendors to three per block.